Chained Hearts: From Slavery to Sovereignty
Chapter 114: The City Lord Played Him?

Chapter 114: Chapter 114: The City Lord Played Him?

The streets of Galdreth were far livelier than Cassian had expected. The entire market was bustling with the activities of different people. The street was filled with merchants and shops selling various goods. If people did not know that there was nothing important today, they might believe that today was some sort of special occasion just by looking at the city’s bustling state.

Cassian narrowed his eyes as he walked past a group of traders haggling over a cart full of weapons. The city lord had said Galdreth’s population had nearly vanished. Yet the roads were filled with people, and business was thriving.

"How strange," he muttered.

"What is?" Keren asked, walking beside him.

Cassian’s eyes wandered through the street before settling on Keren, who was eyeing him with curiosity. "The city lord said that almost half of the population of Galdreth has died. Then where did this crowd come from? Don’t you find it very strange?" He asked Keren with doubt, but the thing was, he did not know whom to doubt—the newly appointed city lord or his own eyes.

Keren did not reply immediately but also started looking at the crowd with more interest and an inquiring gaze. He was also very surprised by the sheer number of people roaming the streets of Galdreth, behaving as if everything was completely normal and no impending doom was looming overhead. That only made it more suspicious. Something was terribly wrong in the city. Either it was the people here, or the city itself was wrong.

But something suddenly clicked in Keren’s mind, and everything became as clear as spring water. He said in a calm voice, "Look closely... something is different."

"What is it?" Cassian asked. He was still deep in thought, doubting that maybe the city lord had played him really badly.

"Look closely... it’s them. Their clothes are different, and if you observe them closely, they do not seem to be natives of Galdreth at all. Looking deeper, every other person looks like they belong to a different region," Keren repeated his words to make it clearer to Cassian.

"Hmm!" Cassian hummed as he noticed the details. Keren was absolutely right. Every different person seemed to belong to a different place. They did not have any similarities at all—neither in their speech nor in their dressing sense. And the thought alone was enough to make his eyes narrow.

And upon closer inspection—none of them looked like residents suffering in a declining city. They weren’t victims of Galdreth’s misfortune.

They were visitors.

Cassian slowed his pace as they passed a blacksmith’s shop. The forge burned hot, but the man working the metal wasn’t the one who owned the shop. His hands were clean, his technique precise but unfamiliar with the tools. A traveler.

At a nearby stall, a merchant loudly advertised imported fabrics. A noblewoman inspected the silk, nodding approvingly, while her escort, a heavily armed knight, stood guard behind her. Cassian noticed their accents were from the eastern regions.

Cassian stopped at a small food stall, pretending to browse the roasted skewers of meat. The vendor was a plump woman with sharp eyes. She smiled at him. "Looking for something, dear?"

"Just browsing," Cassian replied casually. "Seems like business is doing well."

"Better than ever." She laughed while wiping her hands on her apron. "More people have come through in the past few weeks than I’ve seen in years."

Cassian nodded, feigning mild interest as he picked up a skewer. "That so? What brings them here?"

The woman’s smile didn’t waver, but her hands hesitated just slightly as she turned the skewers on the grill. "Who knows? Opportunity, perhaps. Some say the city is cursed. Others say it’s blessed."

"Blessed?" Keren repeated her words and stepped closer to her stall.

The vendor shrugged. "There’s always been something about Galdreth, something that draws people in. A pull, if you will."

Cassian didn’t miss the way she chose her words carefully. It wasn’t an answer, but it was enough to confirm what he had already suspected. These people weren’t here by coincidence. They were drawn to Galdreth. But why? Were they not afraid?

He bought the skewer, biting into the meat as he turned away. Keren walked beside him, silent as ever, but Cassian knew his mind was piecing things together just as quickly.

"They’re all here for the same reason," Cassian murmured. "They won’t say it out loud, but they all know."

Keren frowned. "Then why didn’t that demon stop them at the gates? Why only us?"

Cassian didn’t answer right away. He watched a group of mercenaries disappear down an alley, their excited voices about becoming rich slowly lost in the sounds of the bustling market. The demon at the gate had let them live—had let them in. Why?

"He knew," Cassian finally said. "He knew we were here to investigate. The others? Maybe he let them in because they weren’t a threat to whatever’s happening in this city. Or..." Cassian stopped before continuing his theory. "Maybe they all went through the same test we did and passed."

"Or maybe," Keren continued after Cassian, "he’s playing with us."

Cassian exhaled slowly. He had considered that possibility too.

Cassian and Keren did not know when they had moved deeper into the city of Galdreth. Now the street was so crowded that even walking became difficult. Just what was happening here that made people bet on their lives? He could not tell.

Soon, they arrived in front of one of the larger inns. They overheard a group of merchants speaking in quiet tones. Cassian and the others took a table nearby, keeping their ears open.

"...I heard it from one of the old scholars," a man with greying hair muttered. "The city wasn’t always this big, you know. It expanded because people kept coming. Kept feeling drawn here."

Another merchant, younger and dressed in fine robes, scoffed. "Superstitions. If you ask me, it’s because of the trade routes. There’s money to be made here."

"No," the older man said, shaking his head. "It’s something else. Something beneath this city. You ever wonder why Galdreth never falls, despite all the wars, the conflicts? It should’ve crumbled long ago."

The younger merchant hesitated, then lowered his voice. "Are you saying...?"

The older man nodded. "I’m saying there’s something beneath our feet, something very old. And it’s waking up."

Cassian exchanged a glance with Keren.